Letters to the editor for May 20

I’m responding to Kathy Tompkin’s letter regarding the Perrydale community meeting on the deadly hazardous Perrydale/Bethel Road-Highway 99W intersection; state highway staff decision to not attend the meeting and Commissioner Mordhorst’s decisions to not insist on safety improvements to that intersection as part of the current multi-million dollar “improvement” project the state is doing on that intersection.

Ms. Tompkins indicates she has had the “pleasure of joining Mordhorst” at an ODOT meeting regarding the Perrydale Road-Highway 22 intersection. Ms. Tompkins assumed the facilitator role at the Perrydale community meeting. (I don’t know who appointed her to that position.)

She excused ODOT’s absence, tried to steer discussion to the Highway 22 intersection and, in her April 22 letter to the editor, is assuring us that Commissioner Mordhhorst is “advocating hard for better utilization of your tax dollars.”

It seems as though we misunderstood what our community meeting was all about. It was not meant to be a discussion of what could be done to improve safety at a dangerous intersection. It was to help us understand why nothing could be done in that respect, but that Commissioner Mordhorst was doing a great job and deserved our support. I think we got plugged into an election year strategy for helping the incumbent (Commissioner Mordhorst) stay in office.

Dan Van Otten

Amity

M-I July 4 parade to return in 2021

The Monmouth-Independence Rotary Club reluctantly has to announce that the annual Monmouth-Independence Rotary Club’s Independence Day Grand Parade has to be canceled for July Fourth of 2020 due to the COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings. The executive orders of the governor are in place through September. The accompanying Children’s Parade is also canceled. At the moment, no replacement event is scheduled. We hope to return at full strength on Sunday, July 4, 2021.

We wanted to come back for Labor Day, instead, but the governor’s orders extend through September. So please let the community know we are very sorry, but no large gathering orders will be obeyed for the health of the community.

Jim Birken

Corvallis

Trump’s COVID-19 response disappoints

On a daily basis, I am amazed (and disgusted) at the actions of our president, his family and some staff members.

Trump, Jr. posts a picture on Instagram showing Biden saying ‘see you later, alligator’ along side an alligator saying ‘in a while, pedophile’. Does anyone in that family have a sense of decency? Doesn’t look like it.

Eric Trump says social distancing is part of a ‘cognizant strategy’ to win the election and the virus will disappear after the election. Tell that to the 88,000+ families who have lost loved ones due to the pandemic.

And no one is safe from Trump’s abuse. After Dr. Bright sent an alarm about the administration’s response to the pandemic, he’s ousted and Trump calls him an ‘angry, disgruntled employee’. Anyone who questions Trump is terminated and verbally attacked.

When asked about the possibility of children dying if schools open, Trump’s comment is ‘it is a small percent’. Tell that to the parents who have already lost children.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos directed millions of the coronavirus stabilization funds for public schools to private and religious schools. Apparently when you are a Trump appointee, you can do anything, if you can keep your job. The Trump ‘A Team’ turnover rate is 85 percent. Lots of bad choices.

Clifford Brown

Dallas

Letters Policy

Letters to the editor are limited to 300 words. Longer letters will be edited. Election-related letters of all types are limited to 100 words. Writers are limited to one election-related letter per election season. Election letters from writers outside of Polk County are not accepted. Each writer is restricted to one letter per 30-day period. Letters that are libelous, obscene or in bad taste will not be printed. Attacks by name on businesses or individuals will not be printed. Letters to the editor that are obvious promotions for a business, products or services will not be printed. Itemizer-Observer does not guarantee the accuracy of facts presented by letter writers; dissenters are welcome to respond. Letter writers who disagree with other published letter writers should maintain a civil discourse and address the subject, not the author. Letters that quote facts or use quotes from third-party sources must include the original source in the letter. These original sources might not be printed, so might not count against the overall word count (100 for election related letters, 300 for other letters), but will be required so the news room may double check claims made in letters. Letters, like all editorial material submitted to the newspaper, are edited for length, grammar and content. Letters must include the author’s name, address and telephone number. This includes letters submitted via the I-O’s website. Names and cities of residence are published; street addresses and telephone numbers are used for verification purposes only. Letters must be submitted from individuals, not organizations, and must be original submissions to the I-O, not copies of letters sent to other media. Letters of thanks to businesses, individuals and organizations are limited to 10 names. The deadline for letters to the editor is 10 a.m. Monday. Letters submitted may not be retractable after this deadline. — Reach us at: Mail: Editor, Polk County Itemizer-Observer, P.O. Box 108, Dallas, OR 97338. Fax: 503-623-2395. Email: ionews@polkio.com. Office: 147 SE Court St., Dallas.

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